Agenda and minutes

To note any changes to the membership.

1.1       It was noted that Councillor Karen Scarborough was substituting for Councillor Iain Bott.

1.2       The Chairman welcomed Councillor Paul Church (Deputy Cabinet Member for Children and Young People) to the meeting.

1.3       The Chairman advised that Councillor Steve Summers (Cabinet Member for Sports, Leisure and Customer Services) would not be attending the meeting.  Any questions that Members had regarding his portfolio would be placed on the Committee’s Action Tracker.

1.4       The Chairman welcomed Chief Inspector David Manning (Metropolitan Police) and Senior Probation Officer Lilly Harrington (National Probation Service) to the meeting who took part in the Integrated Gangs Unit.

1.5       The Chairman also welcomed Jean Daintith, Independent Chair of the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board, to the meeting who introduced the Annual Safeguarding Review item.

1.6       The Chairman announced that Smita Borna had started a new job working for Westminster Academy’s sponsors and welcomed Dr Saima Rana, Acting Principal of Westminster Academy, to the Committee.

To receive declarations by Members and Officers of the existence and nature of any personal or prejudicial interests in matters on this agenda.

2.1       No further declarations of interests in respect of items to be discussed were made, other than those noted in the circulated schedule as set out below in paragraph 2.2.

2.2       Table of Member’s interests tabled at the Committee Meeting was as follows:

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 8 June 2015 and 3 September 2015.

3.1       RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meetings held on 8 June and 3 September 2015 be approved for signature by the Chairman as a true and correct record of the proceedings subject to the following amendment to the 3 September 2015 minute:

Item 2, paragraph 2.2 – The paragraph should be replaced with ‘Councillor Ruth Bush declared that she had previously spoken against the proposals and had therefore stood down at the Planning Applications Committee.

a)    To note the progress in implementing the Committee’s Recommendation and Action Trackers.

b)    To provide comment and input into the Work Programme for 2015/16.

4.1       ACTION AND RECOMMENDATION TRACKERS

4.1.1   RESOLVED:

1.    That the Children and Families Act Update be circulated to the Committee.

2.    That the Action and Recommendation Trackers be noted.

 4.2      COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME

4.2.1   RESOLVED:

1.    That an item on Child and Adolescent Mental Health be added to the Work Programme.

2.    That the next meeting would be held at Westminster Academy and would focus on School Performance and Children’s Centres.

Councillor Steve Summers (Cabinet Member for Sports, Leisure and Customer Services) to update the Committee on current and forthcoming issues in his Portfolio.

5.1       The Committee received a written update from the Cabinet Member which            covered current and forthcoming issues in his Portfolio.

5.2      Councillor Ruth Bush referred to paragraph 1.1 of the report and requested that it be noted that the usage of the Jubilee Centre was not negligible, even though this was one of the main reasons given for the closure of the centre.

5.3       ACTIONS:

1.    That the attendance figures for 2013/2014 be included in the table at paragraph 1.1 as well as the attendance of Westminster residents compared to non -Westminster residents

2.    That regular updates on the procurement and re-let of the new sports and leisure facilities contract be sent to the Members of the Committee.

3.    That a briefing note on how the Sports Unit would engage inactive 14-25 years old to take part in the Council’s Active Communities programme be sent to the Members of the Committee.

Councillor Paul Church (Deputy Member for Children and Young People) to update the Committee on current and forthcoming issues in the Portfolio.

6.1       The Committee received an update from the Deputy Cabinet Member who responded to questions relating to:

·         the success of the Summer Sports Programme for young people.

·         Westminster’s provisional GCSE results which showed that 69% of Westminster pupils achieved 5 grade A*-C GCSEs and the future performance of schools.

·         the improvement of the overall quality and timeliness of adoption work.

·         the recruitment, marketing and benefit package for foster carers.

·         the investigation of historical sexual abuse and the work being carried out regarding female genital mutation (FGM).

·         the benefits of one to one mentoring offered to young people leaving custody and those at risk of custody.

·         the recruitment and retention schemes offered to our Social Workers.

·         the need to regularly review and have a flexible approach to future school capacity and school places.

·         Westminster’s schools meeting the 1^st January 2015 School Food Standards and school meals.

To evaluate the work undertaken by the Council.

7.1       The Committee received a report outlining the remit, work and achievements of the Westminster’s Integrated Gangs Unit (IGU).

7.2       The Committee heard from Matthew Watson, Service Manager, who discussed with the Committee how the Integrated Gangs Unit (IGU)  and ‘Your Choice’ Programme was initiated following a significant rise in gang related youth violence between 2010 and 2011.  The Committee heard that gangs were complex and operated across age ranges, localities and geographical boundaries and that gang activities could be both public (street fights or ‘You Tube’ taunts) or hidden (drug dealing and witness intimidation).  The Committee noted that the impact of gangs were usually felt beyond their immediate groups and that the best approach to prevent and reduce the number of young people involved was a multi-agency approach, combing enforcement, diversion intervention and prevention.

7.3       The Committee welcomed Chief Inspector David Manning from the Metropolitan Police Force who discussed the police’s work to tackle gangs in the borough and how the work of the IGU and information sharing had been beneficial to Westminster.

7.4       The Committee further welcomed Lilly Harrington, Senior Probation Officer, from the National Probation Service who discussed the probation service and how young people convicted of gang activities were supported through the service. 

7.5       The key issues that emerged from the Committee’s discussion were:

·         the work being carried out by the wide range of agencies working together to deter young people getting involved in gangs and the difficulty but important work of building up trusting relationships and mentoring gang members.

·         the number of influential gangs in Westminster and the changing pattern,  practice and focus of gangs.  Westminster gangs were currently focusing on business deals and drug dealing.

·         the reduction in serious youth violence in Westminster compared to other London Boroughs and whether the reduction would have occurred naturally and without the existence of the Integrated Gangs Unit.  The Committee noted that in 2011 Westminster had a very high level of serious youth violence compared to other London Boroughs but since the introduction of the IGU the reduction of serious youth violence had been significant in Westminster and significant compared to other London Boroughs. 

·         the impact on the Integrated Gangs Unit (IGU) on offending levels and that further analysis should be carried out on the impact of the IGU on rates of recorded incidents of serious youth violence and gang related offences. 

·         the work being carried out in schools to prevent serious youth crime and the many reasons why young people joined gangs such as opportunity, no aspiration and no choice, family and respect.

·         the age range of gang members, (ranging from 10-25 years of age), and education opportunities. The Committee noted that some gang members had obtained good GCSE results and that successful gang members could present themselves well in many different environments and were usually the most influential gang members.

·         the importance of not allowing gang members to return home after being released from custody so as to prevent them from influencing younger members of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To examine the work of the Safeguarding Board in the last year and the plans for the forthcoming year.

8.         LOCAL SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD’S ANNUAL REPORT 2014-2015 (EXECUTIVE SUMMARY)

8.1       The Committee received an Executive Summary of the Local Safeguarding Children Board’s Annual Report 2014-15 which reviewed and evaluated the achievements and progress of the LSCB which covered the Tri- Borough area.

8.2       The Committee heard from Jean Daintith, the Independent Chair of the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) for Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster, who discussed the five priorities for the Safeguarding Plan for 2015/16, outlined the work of the Board and available resources and responded to questions.

8.3       The Committee noted the LSCBs were multi-agency partnerships charged with overseeing local arrangements for safeguarding children and the work that had been achieved by the Board on identifying key priorities to be taken forward for the coming year.  The Committee further noted the work being carried out on the safeguarding of children taking into account local concerns such as child sexual exploitation, neglect of children and young people and abuse in the home and national concerns such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and radicalisation of young people.

8.4       ACTION: That the Draft Annual Report 2014/15 Local Safeguarding Children’s Board be circulated to the Committee.

8.5       RESOLVED:

1.    That the Committee welcomed the report and noted that safeguarding was one of the most important duties of the Council.

2.    That the Committee acknowledged the achievements and progress that had been made by the LSCB and the effectiveness of local arrangements to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within the Tri-Borough area. 

3.    That the Committee endorsed steps to further develop and enhance multi-agency partnerships within the Tri-Borough area.

Verbal Update (if any)

9.         EXEMPT REPORT UNDER LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972

9.1       RESOLVED: That under Section 100 (A) (4) and schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business because it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information on the grounds shown below:

            Item No           Grounds                                                          Para of Part 1 of

                                                                                                            Schedule 12A of the Act

                 9.                Information relating to an individual    

10.       UPDATE ON SAFEGUARDING ISSUES (verbal update – see agenda item 9)

10.1     The Committee received an update in relation to the Southbank Series Case Review.